Talk:Tactical Surface Fighter/@comment-110.21.37.189-20140621122441/@comment-4391208-20140622013022
The Flying Armor was critical in Gundam because it gave pretty much any mobile suit that used it flight capability and vastly extended range; a critical capability for the AEUG, since they didn't have many role-dedicated mobile suits to fall back on. TSFs don't have that need, largely thanks to strategic doctrine. Any boost to flight range is negated by the fact that once you're not under artillery cover, you're playing Laser Tag With Deadly Consequences; TSFs rarely operate in deep unless for specific cases, and the vast majority of them usually fight under conditions that include allied fire support. Even in deep, TSFs depend on their capability for near-instant landing and sideways maneuverability to survive encountering the line-of-sight of a Laser-class by landing quickly behind cover, or crouching down, etc. With a Flying Armor you're going to be stuck in the air at a considerable height, unless you want to try NOE flight on a flying platform with a heavy load on top of it; at any region behind the front lines, that's as good as walking on foot into a Hive. Lasers will cut down the Flying Armor before any weapons can be activated and fired, unless you want to default to longer-ranged munitions, but even then, you have to place a suitable avionics set on the FXA-00; if the Flying Armor wasn't a target of opportunity to the BETA before, the extra electronics will make sure it is now. Let's not even talk about Heavy Lasers; you're going to need a stand-off weapon just to strike out of range. Of course, it's within the capability of the Laser-class to shoot down any oncoming missiles. As a shield you have the typical types used by TSFs; I assume that the Flying Armor as a shield is an emergency capability and not a dedicated one, given that it is, for all intents and purposes, a jet aircraft. If you're operating within the range of TSFs, then taking the Flying Armor in would be a waste of resources; the TSFs don't need the extra flight range. If you're operating outside of typical TSF range, then losing the Flying Armor by using it as a shield could mean a serious issue of being trapped behind lines due to a lack of fuel. While the endurance of the TSF has been extended by twice because it didn't need to rely on fuel to get in, the issue is how much fuel it will burn to get out. If the Flying Armor could operate at x3 the range of a TSF (this includes the return trip, making the distance x6 total), then the TSF only has enough fuel to cover 2/3 of the distance before the pilot has to leg it on foot. Not a very good application of resources. For Orbital Divers, they accelerate for some distance before disengaging from their shells, using the equipment as makeshift solid rounds against enemy BETA formations on the ground. The Orbital Divers are not just transiting from space to Earth; their role is to hit the ground guns blazing, and penetrate as deep as they can into a Hive, hopefully enough to reach a Hive reactor. It's an entirely different set of rules from from orbital re-entry in Gundam; to add to that, the Flying Armor does not afford full-frame coverage, something the ODs need on their trip down. The FA was a key add-on to any mobile suit that granted them the precious capability of prolonged flight without being powered by (at that era) a Minovsky reactor as large as the mobile suit itself, or worse. This worked exceptionally well for the AEUG due to their limited fighting forces, and also because they were fighting enemies with the same capabilities as them. More importantly, they were fighting human opponents, with a limited number per engagement. With TSFs, their opponents are the BETA; airspace is restricted, and your TSFs don't fight a mobile battle over long distances; unless you're laserjagd, but there still wouldn't be a need for an add-on to range and flying height.